LATEST STORIES FROM INSTANT 49ERS
Mike Singletary and The Lost Finger
At 52, Mike Singletary still has muscles on top his muscles. Even so, it's easy to look at the broad-shouldered, barrel-chested and slim-waisted Hall-of-Fame middle linebacker and not see a legendary former player.The reason for this is obvious. Singletary is now a coach -- a not-so-successful coach who has been ridiculed in the press and lampooned on Letterman. Memories of his...
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December 20, 2010
Discuss
Niners sit back, stay alive in NFC West
Thanks to Kansas City's 27-13 win at St. Louis today, the Niners (5-9) officially maintained a pulse in their attempt to win the NFC West and become the NFL's first 7-9 team to make the playoffs.]]>
On Thursday, the 49ers clinched their seventh losing season in the past eight years.
Today, they discovered they could still clinch a division...
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December 20, 2010
911 call for secondary: Is there a CB in the draft?
Late in the second quarter of the Niners' 34-7 loss to San Diego on Thursday night, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers spotted the mismatch -- wide receiver Vincent Jackson on linebacker Takeo Spikes -- and lofted a pass to Jackson for a much-too-easy 11-yard touchdown.After the game, Spikes didn't reveal whether he was supposed to receive help on the play. Instead, he focused on...
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December 18, 2010
Singletary playing familiar tune with The Smiths
Given the circumstances, 49ers coach Mike Singletary said quarterback Alex Smith "handled himself about as well he could" in a 34-7 loss to the Chargers on Thursday night.Even so, Singletary said he considered benching Smith during the game. And today he reiterated what he said after the loss: He hasn't made a decision on whether Alex Smith or Troy Smith will start...
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December 17, 2010
The Niners and their knack for not making plays
Geez, I spent nearly 1,000 words trying to describe the 49ers' performance and my non-writer, NFL-mad friend captured it perfectly in a concise in-game e-mail.His message: Puke.Evidently RB DeShawn Wynn wasn't the only one with an upset tummy after the Niners' 34-7 faceplant against San Diego:
• The Niners have a unique ability to not make plays.
It'...
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December 17, 2010
Willis, Spikes in; Gates, Floyd out
• ILBs Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes, who were questionable with hand injuries, will play tonight. CSN Bay Area has reported that both Willis and Spikes have broken hands.• 49ers inactives: David Carr (3rd QB), K Joe Nedney, CB Tramaine Brock, CB Will James, S Chris Maragos, LB Thaddeus Gibson, T Joe Staley, T Alex Boone.James will miss his fifth straight game...
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December 16, 2010
Singletary, Chargers' Rivera have a history
Here's a good story from today's San Diego Union-Tribune on the connection between Mike Singletary and San Diego defensive coordinator Ron Rivera.Rivera was Singletary's backup at middle linebacker on the 1985 Chicago Bears and later played alongside Singletary for five seasons. Rivera notes that Singletary, the Hall-of-Fame player, had a unique ability to absorb Xs and Os and the...
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December 16, 2010
Slumping Crabtree draws shut-down secondary
Kansas City wide receiver Dwayne Bowe leads the NFL with 14 touchdown catches.In two games against the Chargers secondary, though, he's combined for two catches for 16 yards.Indianapolis' Reggie Wayne ranks second in the NFL in receptions (94) and yards (1,213).Against San Diego, however, he had five catches for 42 yards.
Houston's Andre Johnson and New England's Wes...
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December 16, 2010
Grab bag: Dixon gets four ... and 30 more
This and that from today in Santa Clara:• RB Anthony Dixon says coach Mike Singletary asks him to get four yards.On Sunday, the 233-pound rookie got him 34.In the first quarter of Sunday's 40-21 win against Seattle, Dixon swept right and cut back left on the longest run of his career. It was type of play Dixon often made en route to leading the NFL in rushing during the preseason...
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December 14, 2010
Casting call for Niners ILB duo
The 49ers starting inside linebackers sported similar casts -- and messages -- today.Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes had casts on their right arms, but little news for reporters regarding their playing status for Thursday's game at San Diego.Come to think of it, the club-wearing linebackers must also share the same media consultant.Have a listen:
Spikes: "I don't know...
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December 14, 2010
How a loser could be a division winner
As you know, the 49ers could lose at San Diego on Thursday night and still win the NFC West with a 7-9 record. The Niners would have to win their final two games and have the Rams and Seahawks both lose at least two of their remaining three games. In the event of ties, San Francisco would win the tiebreaker by virtue of a 5-1 division record.If such a scenario were to occur, San...
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December 14, 2010
Subdued Singletary is doing more coaching
We've seen Mike Singletary red-eyed after losses.We've seen him in defiant you'll-see-on-Sunday mode.We've seen him in motivational, voice-rising, we-will-embrace-the-challenge mode.Today, however, we saw a new Singletary persona: Comatose Mike.
Singletary has been subdued with the media before, but not quite like this.
At one point, Associated Press reporter Janie...
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December 13, 2010
Westbrook not sure bench was such a blessing
This and that from the 49ers' 40-21 victory over the Seahawks:• Niners coach Mike Singletary termed Brian Westbrook's slow transition into the offense a "blessing in the disguise.""I'm just thankful that we didn't use Brian very much early on, and let him get acclimated, let him understand what we're doing, the protections, and all those things...
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December 13, 2010
Dixon looking for revenge in rematch
Happy game day. I'm about to head off to Candlestick, but here's an early start on some pregame notes.I'll be updating this blog leading up until kickoff:• Running back Anthony Dixon got a welcome-to-the-NFL moment in Week 1 debut at Seattle.Today, the rookie is hoping to get a little revenge.
Dixon led the NFL in rushing in the preseason. But he quickly discovered...
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December 12, 2010
What if Brian Billick coached the 49ers?
Many of you have had this fantasy, um, thought: What if Jon Gruden or Jim Harbaugh were the 49ers head coach?Some of you might have even pondered a name such as Brian Billick. What would a Super-Bowl-winning coach with an offensive background do with the smash-mouth Niners?Well, wonder no more.
Based on his give-and-take with the Bay Area media today, one got the &...
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December 10, 2010
Anthony Davis: 'It's like you cheated'
Anthony Davis smiled today as he recalled a moment when his talent and preparation collided.And Green Bay sack master Clay Matthews felt the impact.Based on his pregame film study, Davis, the Niners 21-year-old rookie right tackle, said he was ready for one of Matthews' patented moves early in San Francisco's 34-16 loss to the Packers.
"I'd been watching Clay and he...
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December 10, 2010
The key to the defense? (Hint: It's not Patrick Willis)
His stance was too wide and he stood too upright.And, as a result of Ricky Jean Francois' sloppy technique, the 49ers defense was too soft when the second-year nose tackle replaced an injured Aubrayo Franklin in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 34-16 loss to the Packers.After Francois entered, Green Bay went on a game-sealing, 17-play, 74-yard drive during which it collected 53 of...
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December 09, 2010
49ers favored. Again.
Given the circumstances surrounding the team -- most notably that 4-8 record -- a lack of faith seems completely reasonable.But Las Vegas doesn't share your pessimistic outlook. The sharks have installed San Francisco as a five-point favorite in Sunday's game against the visiting Seahawks, marking the 10th time in 13 games the Niners have been favored this season (they are...
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December 09, 2010
Alex Smith: 'What's changed?'
Alex Smith understands more of the 49ers playbook than Troy Smith.But he had a more difficult time grasping why coach Mike Singletary told him Monday that he -- and not Troy Smith -- would be the starting quarterback Sunday against Seattle."It was definitely my first question, 'What's changed?'" Smith said. "That was definitely something that was on my mind."
Singletary...
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December 08, 2010
Singletary tight-lipped on Lynn's resignation
The 49ers world began turning today with coach Mike Singletary addressing the unexpected departure of assistant Johnnie Lynn, 53, who resigned this week after five years on the staff for what the team termed "personal reasons." Lynn, a special assistant to Singletary who also coached the defensive backs with Vance Joseph, left the Niners in the wake of a 34-16 loss to Green...
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December 08, 2010
Singletary cites experience in returning to Alex Smith
Troy Smith or Alex Smith?It's not exactly the NFL equivalent of choosing between filet mignon and Chateaubriand.But 49ers coach Mike Singletary said he's going back to Alex Smith because the sixth-year quarterback is a bit better aged.
On his weekly KNBR show this morning Singletary referred to Smith's
experience on multiple occasions in discussing the decision...
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December 07, 2010
Reports: Alex Smith will start vs. Seattle
The 49ers will go back to Plan A in an effort to keep their fading playoff hopes alive. According to multiple sources, the Niners will bench quarterback Troy Smith in favor of Alex Smith for their game against visiting Seattle (6-6) on Sunday. With a loss, San Francisco (4-8) will be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
Alex Smith started the season's first...
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December 07, 2010
49ers pummeled while playing it safe
On the game's first offensive play Sunday, 49ers quarterback Troy Smith heaved a deep pass to Michael Crabtree.It was incomplete. But it sure seemed looked a message was being sent: They Niners were 9½-point underdogs on the road and they were going to adopt a go-for-broke mentality.Maybe an onsides kick at some point. Possibly a little razzle-dazzle. OK, at the very least,...
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December 06, 2010
Pregame notes from Green Bay
Sorry, I just really enjoy writing that.They don't have pigskin-lined streets here, much to my surprise, but they do have everything else to delight a diehard NFL fan, including an ocean of alcohol in the parking lot. ]]>
OK, the forecast for kickoff: 22 degrees, 14
mile-per-hour winds and 20 percent chance of snow showers. A few stray
flakes...
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December 05, 2010
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